🔗 Share this article

Over the weekend, the game developers introduced a fresh game mode titled Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the standard Breakthrough format but features several notable changes:

• Each team includes only 8 human participants, with the rest made up of AI-controlled opponents.
• Activities done by real players award full XP, while AI activities offer reduced XP.
• Only two maps can be played: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
• Features like Dogtags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.

So essentially, this mode lives up to its title: it's a laid-back take of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think it's a good idea, as it gives additional choices for players seeking different ways to enjoy the game. But, if video games have taught us anything, it is that you can't please everyone. In other words, many Battlefield 6 fans are upset.

Community Reactions: From Fury to Support

"People want real players. Avoid making the errors of your rivals," states a response to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking concept," comments another. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user notes, "I have no idea where we are going with this game," and another details all the issues they consider to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Fix bugs, address drone issues, fix IVF rockets, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We don't need this bot mode."

However, amid the criticism, some gamers explaining how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's very fun to practice, real players prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's quite laid-back," says one Reddit comment. "This subreddit doesn't understand that there are players who actually go outside and can't play this title 24/7. Let them strike a balance," adds a different comment. One reply via social media clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is great for me," and another praises the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Constructive Criticisms and Player Input

All that said, there are constructive reasons to criticize the new mode. A few folks have pointed out that it will make queue times even longer for other modes due to the sheer number of playlists in the game already. Similarly, certain regions already encounter AI-filled matches in the current modes. It also seems a little backwards that the mode does not begin without a required amount of real players, even though it primarily centers on combat against bots.

Finally, one of the biggest grievances is that a previous feature was promised to offer complete rewards, even against bots, but that was removed when they tried to eliminate XP farming from the system. So this new playlist seems like the player base meeting them halfway, as per forum feedback. A different user describes this mode as the devs "dropping the ball significantly, I experienced so much fun in the initial release, why did they feel the need to adjust it?"

Looking Ahead: Will Changes Be Made?

Should the development team has proven anything so far with Battlefield 6, it is that they're paying attention and acting on player input. Assignments that were overly hard got fixed very quickly, just like the specific battle pass objectives. Chances are that, if their data indicates this new playlist isn't performing to their expectations, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.